After Pa. 'superbug' case, CDC promises national lab network
A national network of laboratories is being created to test for antibiotic-resistant bacteria, an official from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday.
A national network of laboratories is being created to test for antibiotic-resistant bacteria, an official from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday.
The announcement came in the wake of last week's disclosure that a 49-year-old Pennsylvania woman had a urinary tract infection from E. coli bacteria that contained a gene that could potentially make bacteria antibiotic-resistant.
While the public need not be concerned about any direct health risk from the woman's condition - she is doing fine now, the official said - there is a larger, looming concern.
"It's the potential of genetic material being passed from one bacteria to another that is the larger concern," Beth Bell, the CDC's lead for antibiotic resistance, told reporters in a conference call. "This gene [found in the woman] provides that opportunity."
The CDC epidemiology officer overseeing the investigation in Pennsylvania, Jeffrey Miller, said he could say nothing about the investigation into the woman's case because of a state law that prevents him from revealing anything about a health investigation or anything that might intrude on a patient's privacy.
Bell said that the CDC would create by autumn seven or eight networks around the country that link government laboratories, academic laboratories, and others who could more efficiently and effectively test for other antibiotic-resistant bacteria or genes.
The CDC will oversee the networks and provide some funding to link them, she said.
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